I keep an umbrella and tire gauge in a side pocket of my car, a CD case (one that holds a bunch of discs) in my glove box, and an ice scraper/snow brush in my trunk. I also have a car trash bag (it velcros around the headrest of the passenger seat – these are great for catching straw wrappers, etc instead of tossing them in the floor!). Occasionally a jacket will find its way into my car. I might leave it there if the weather has been chilly lately, but if it’s nice weather, out it goes!

The best way to keep your car clean is to not bring crap into it to begin with. If you just HAVE to bring stuff in your car, keep a small box or bag and EVERYTHING goes into it. That way when you decide to clean out your car (or need to find something) it’s all in one spot.

i loked at hwta had happened to me recently and while my car was gettign more and more cluttered, my insurance policy was canceled. Arggh! So I looked at the state of my car and as of today I have a cooler in there I had for one month and a surfboard in there for 1 week! Uh…yes…unmanagibilty in my life.

I’m going to take care of the car business today and re-dedicate myself to taking car of my car.

To those who posted they struggle with car clutter, thank you for your honesty. It takes a lot to admit that there is a clutter problem in our cars.

To those of you who posted that you don’t understand how anyone could have problems with clutter or you may have thought this was an April Fool’s joke, please have more compassion. For the people that do struggle with clutter this is an issue that is no joke. We ALL have our stuggles. My car clutter just happenes to be one of them.

One of the most funniest things I have seen is a Mexican soldier inspect my car and spend more time on my lunch bag than my trunk.

Just last week, maybe you tossed a business card from a new client into your car? You can look up the website on the Internet, but you would like to have the e-mail address and direct phone number of this hot new prospect. Is it under the ream of paper…

I have to admit my car needs a good cleaning. There’s all sorts of small wrappers such as cough drops that miss the wastebasket, empty water bottles, etc. I do keep maps, GPS, flashlight, book flashlight, car registration and insurance, pencil, small notebook for recording mileage, fingernail clipper, lip gloss, kleenex, tire gauge, cell phone charger and other items that I’ve needed when on the road. Including a small phone book which has been very handy from time to time. The trunk has grocery bags, first aid kit, and foldable shovel. During the winter I like to add a blanket and sometimes some cat litter or sand for ice emergencies.

Not to go off topic…but one of the ways I uncluttered my Ford Explorer for gas mileage reasons was to remove the roof rack (wind drag.) I also took out the 30 pound spare tire (for local trips I just carry fix-a-flat and AAA card – for a longer trip I’ll pop the spare back in) but removing the full size off road tire has made a reasonable difference in weight.

In the front I have kleenex, owner’s manual, stereo owner’s manual, insurance and registration in the glove box. There’s a couple CD wallets in the middle of my bench seat. My ashtray has a box of breath mints and sometimes change. A little cubby below that has a spray air freshener. There’s a plastic bag hung over the gearshift for garbage, but mostly I take garbage out when I leave the vehicle. Behind the seat I have an atlas, tire changing supplies, an ice scraper, and a squeegee. I also recently started leaving my yoga mat and wedges and my camera tripod in my car, because I never use them in the house and it seemed silly to keep taking them inside and then bringing them back out again.

I’m totally going to print this article out and give to my husband and point him in the direction of HIS car with 3 garbage bags though!

There is a microfiber cloth folded up and put in one of the cubbies of the console. Having it there makes it easier to keep things clean when your sitting waiting to pick someone up or another delay. I try to keep a small paper sack on the drivers side floor to gather junk mail and other trash. When filling the car with gas I empty all the trash out of the car that didn’t make it to the bag. My car is one of the few spaces I have control over, keeping it clean makes me feel better.

I will try the three bag idea…..and will aim to be more like y’all and keep my car as neat as possible.